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Scott Brown, the Massachsuetts Republican who won a special election to the Senate in 2010 but was defeated last year, wil not run for the Senate seat being vacated by John Kerry. Here's part of a statement from Brown:

Over these past few weeks I have given serious thought about the possibility of running again, as events have created another vacancy requiring another special election. I have received a lot of encouragement from friends and supporters to become a candidate, and my competitive instincts were leading in the same direction.

Even so, I was not at all certain that a third Senate campaign in less than four years, and the prospect of returning to a Congress even more partisan than the one I left, was really the best way for me to continue in public service at this time. And I know it’s not the only way for me to advance the ideals and causes that matter most to me.

That is why I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for the United States Senate in the upcoming special election.

Democrats who have already announced their candidacy for the seat are longtime House member Ed Markey and brand-new House member Stephen Lynch, who announced he was running on Thursday. Other Democrats may jump in the race to replace Kerry, who has been confirmed as Barack Obama's next secretary of state.

Brown's decision not to run takes away perhaps the best chance Massachusetts Republicans have at winning the seat in the heavily Democratic state.